Abstract

Although syndecan-4 is implicated in cancer progression, there is no information for its role in testicular germ cell tumours (TGCTs). Thus, we examined the expression of syndecan-4 in patients with TGCTs and its correlation with the clinicopathological findings. Immunohistochemical staining in 71 tissue specimens and mRNA analysis revealed significant overexpression of syndecan-4 in TGCTs. In seminomas, high percentage of tumour cells exhibited membranous and/or cytoplasmic staining for syndecan-4 in all cases. Stromal staining for syndecan-4 was found in seminomas and it was associated with nodal metastasis (), vascular/lymphatic invasion (), and disease stage (). Reduced tumour cell associated staining for syndecan-4 was observed in nonseminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCTs) compared to seminomas. This loss of syndecan-4 was associated with nodal metastasis (), vascular/lymphatic invasion (), and disease stage (). Stromal staining for syndecan-4 in NSGCTs did not correlate with any of the clinicopathological variables. The stromal expression of syndecan-4 in TGCTs was correlated with microvessel density (). Our results indicate that syndecan-4 is differentially expressed in seminomas and NSGCTs and might be a useful marker. Stromal staining in seminomas and reduced levels of syndecan-4 in tumour cells in NSGCTs are related to metastatic potential, whereas stromal staining in TGCTs is associated with neovascularization.